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The number of college students taking courses in American Sign Language has doubled over the past decade, making the language the fourth most popular in the recent Modern Language Association Survey. Student interest in the language rose in the 20 years since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, creating an increased need for interpreters in health care, government and workplace settings.

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"Meetups" are becoming more common in the Seattle area among foreign language speakers. Meetup.com allows people interested in practicing their conversational skills to connect with one another. Groups of speakers meet in the area regularly to practice various foreign languages, including Italian, French, Spanish, Russian, German, Hindi and Korean.

Tokyo native Ayako Shiga was recognized as teacher of the year after she started a Japanese language program at Washington County Public Schools in Maryland. Shiga, who earned degrees in applied linguistics, teaching English as a second language and Japanese pedagogy, said her motivation for teaching is to help students face the same challenges she did when learning English.

Oregon offers three levels of certification for medical interpreters, only two of which require interpreters to take a test demonstrating their competency in the language, and some argue that interpreters are not paid enough to justify the cost of added certification. The result is a wide range of skill levels among interpreters, which has led some to argue in favor of nationwide standards for the profession.

The Vietnamese government is trying to address poverty issues, among ethnic minorities who don't speak the national language, through bilingual education. With the help of UNICEF, Vietnam has piloted programs to help some minority children start learning Vietnamese in primary school. "We see quite remarkable differences in the learning outcomes," said Mitsue Uemura, UNICEF Vietnam's education section chief.

Financial woes are threatening to shutter the Midwest Center on Law and the Deaf, believed to be the only legal center of its kind for those who cannot hear. The center helps provide access to legal services and bridge the gap to the justice system for those with hearing impairments. "Most of our clients require a sign language interpreter to communicate with their attorneys and in court. So, we advocate for the rights of our clients," the group's executive director, Karen Aguilar, said.